Monday, January 11, 2016
Monday, January 11, 2016

Happy 75th Birthday to Hayao Miyazaki - Master of...

Hayao Miyazaki(born 1941) is both the co-founder of Studio Ghibli and the single most successful and renowned animator in Japan since Osamu Tezuka a.k.a. The Father of Manga (which also makes him the most famous Japanese animator worldwide). He began his career in the early-‘60s at Toei, but came to prominence writing and directing anime for television in the '70s.

In 1984, Miyazaki and producer Isao Takahata scraped together a staff and enough financial support to make a feature film: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, based on a Miyazaki-penned manga. The film’s success allowed Miyazaki and Takahata to set up their own studio - Ghibli- which became their base of operations from then onwards.

Miyazaki has gained notoriety for vocalizing his beliefs regardless of whom he might offend, which makes him a unique case of an executive who goes by his word. Miyazaki currently stands alone as the only anime director recognized by Hollywood’s highest honor, the Academy Award. His 2001 film Spirited Away won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film in 2003 (Miyazaki received a nomination for the same award in 2006 with Howl’s Moving Castleand in 2013 for The Wind Rises).